Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

"Warning" email delivered by Pokemon TCG Online

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Ruiner

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Well, here is a new one. For those familiar with Pokemon Online, you know about the lovely "non-optional" language filter. I understand the purpose of this. Having played Magic Online, I know how angry and verbally abusive players can become during the course of a game. Pokemon not only has a younger player base, but they also do aim to uphold a safer playing environment in order to be able to market to this player base. While I personally think that a player should be given the option of turning off their filter ( thus allowing incoming conversation to be uncensored but not outgoing ) I am not necessarily offended by the current structure.

Well, this was until about an hour ago, when I received an email stating my account had received a Warning ( Multiple of which can result in account suspension ) regarding a statement I had made during the course of a game. Now, let me first say this much. This statement was said to a real life friend of mine who I had logged on with in order to playtest a matchup after talking on Facebook regarding it prior. The statement in question was effectively me joking "how can I harass you past this dumb filter?" after we got annoyed by it censoring about every other joke we had been making. ( My opponent just as much as me ) No complaint or report was filed by my friend, yet I was "reprimanded" for my unceremonious behavior.

Does this mean a player isn't allowed to jokingly insult their playtesting partner if they topdeck Juniper off of an N? Since when did the terms and agreements intend to spill over to peoples private conversations during playtesting? While I appreciate the protection of new players and younger players I think that this turned into a disgusting witch hunt well beyond the bounds of what I view as an appropriate effort to make for a friendly environment. Such censorship in casual games with friends is actually an extremely offputting issue to me regarding the program and my desire to keep using it. The way the situation was handled by the PTCGO staff actively offends me. I'm curious if anyone else has had a similar situation as this?
 
It's the internet. Any sense of humor is completely up to the perception of the reader. In a legal sense this can result in a number of problems as they are unaware of what is meant to be a joke and what isn't. Nintendo and its subsidiaries (such as Pokemon) take pride in their family friendly attitude and actively take measures to maintain it. In this case for instance the statement you quoted implies that you are looking for a way to bypass the rules for questionable reasons.

Is it annoying? Certainly, but it isn't something to get offended at.

Know that Nintendo and to that extent Pokemon take their jobs very seriously and due to the nature of the internet are left to handle things at face value only and apply their rules equally across all of their mediums, and act accordingly.

If the filters annoy you that much and you're playing with a friends then use other means to converse with them, such as Facebook, text, or the instant messenger of your choosing.
 
Which is fine if a party were to be offended and report an issue. I'm pretty sure that is how, uh, literally every other online game I've ever played has handled the issue. The fact they are actively reading through casual conversation without prior cause alone is a scary breach of privacy in my mind. Sure, it is their game, they CAN do it, but I'd like to assume that to do so would be an extreme, not the norm, and the fact that it is not is very worrisome to me.

It is even one thing to overmoderate a random game, or during the course of a tournament ( assuming we actually ever get one of those well after a year since the program has been active ) but private games should very well be held to different standards. Hell, even make an OPTION for specifically that sort of game. A private room where two players can play without the filters if they both choose not to. I'm sure that isn't hard to do.
 
I prefer to talk via Skype / TeamSpeak to friends while playtesting. PTCGO doesn't work here :frown: but with Redshark or playtcg this works fine.
 
Ruiner said:
Which is fine if a party were to be offended and report an issue. I'm pretty sure that is how, uh, literally every other online game I've ever played has handled the issue. The fact they are actively reading through casual conversation without prior cause alone is a scary breach of privacy in my mind. Sure, it is their game, they CAN do it, but I'd like to assume that to do so would be an extreme, not the norm, and the fact that it is not is very worrisome to me.

It is even one thing to overmoderate a random game, or during the course of a tournament ( assuming we actually ever get one of those well after a year since the program has been active ) but private games should very well be held to different standards. Hell, even make an OPTION for specifically that sort of game. A private room where two players can play without the filters if they both choose not to. I'm sure that isn't hard to do.
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Twice I've gotten warnings week after convos. Once for saying "check pokegym dot net" and another for calling my friend a "******* ly loser". I get, in both cases why they wouldn't like it, it's just a bit creepy that they have someone retroactively going through all your chat logs.

Honestly, more than the stigma of playing a game for kids, it really irks me to have to play LIKE a kid (and honestly, that sorta goes here too where there are some rules that exist mainly because of kids).
 
Unfortunately your freedom of speech doesn't over ride their responsibility to protect the interests of children while you are on their site. Apparently they take the responsibility quite seriously - whether the average joe cares or not. This isn't a bad thing. It's just something to get used to. If you allow yourself to be molded by it instead of getting defensive, you'll find you might become a better person for it, ..... perhaps. It all depends upon your reaction to discipline.

Here's a quote from one of my favorite books:

"True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yeilds peaceable fruit, namely righteousness."

So don't think of it as an inconvenience, a bother, an annoyance, but think of it as a chance to train yourself to be a better person.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering where that's quoted from .... it's from the bible at Hebrews 12 verse 11. Hope that helps.
 
LMAO, yes, sending links to friends makes me a bad person. I'm going to get all my buds bibles as well and let them know that refraining from busting each others chops makes them better people

Boring, unfun people, but better.
 
I don't really see why this is a problem. The PTCGO Terms of Service states:

USER'S OBLIGATIONS
In connection with the use of the Site you shall comply with all applicable laws and legal obligations, including those pertaining to such areas as libel, slander, defamation, trade libel, product disparagement, harassment, invasion of privacy, tort, obscenity, indecency, and copyright or trademark infringement. The materials and information available on the Site may include intellectual property that is protected under the copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws of the United States and/or other countries. Such intellectual property laws generally prohibit the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of all text, photographic and graphic (art and electronic) images, music, sound samplings and other protected materials. The violation of applicable intellectual property laws may give rise to civil and/or criminal prosecution and penalties.
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Responsibility for User's Material
You are prohibited from posting or transmitting any defamatory, libelous, obscene, pornographic, profane, threatening, or unlawful material or any material that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense or give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any law. Although Pokémon may from time to time monitor or review bulletin boards, chatrooms, discussions, postings, transmissions, and the like on the Site, Pokémon is under no obligation to do so and assumes no liability or responsibility arising from the contents of any such communications or for any defamation, error, inaccuracy, libel, obscenity, or profanity contained in any such communication. Pokémon may change, edit, or remove any user material or conversations that are illegal, indecent, obscene, or offensive, or that violate Pokémon's policies in any way. Pokémon will fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing Pokémon to disclose the identity of anyone posting such materials.
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Read the bold parts. It clearly says they might and can read through whatever they want on their site/game. It's not like that's hidden or anything, it's right at the bottom of the PTCGO's webpage.

If you don't agree with a site or game's ToS then don't use it. I don't see the problem here.
 
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I gotta point to World Of Warcraft's policies on this. The official policy states that "adult" language is a bannable offense. However, it is only enforced in private if reported. So if two friends are together and swearing at each other in a space no one else can see, then no one cares. If you swear in public and a GM sees it, you'll be banned.

I think PTCGO would benefit from this policy, though I can completely understand the difference in target age group of WoW and PTCGO.
 
AnUnown said:
LMAO, yes, sending links to friends makes me a bad person. I'm going to get all my buds bibles as well and let them know that refraining from busting each others chops makes them better people

Boring, unfun people, but better.
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:lol: Again, on the defensive. LOL.

Nobody, including me, says you are a bad person. In fact your ability to come on here at the pokegym and clearly, consisely state your problem with their policy without being snotty about it, says a lot about your current level of maturity. I gotta give you props for that. But just like all of us, you AND I need to improve. That's a given. If we improve ourselves, we'll become nicer people to be around. If you currently have lots of friends, that's great. But just think about how many friends you'll have if you become nicer to be around. The bible's advice won't do you any harm - nor your buds. However it's up to you to heed it's advice, or to ignore it at your own peril. You can be a positive force for good among your friends - or not. You choose, or not. But whether you think you've chosen, or just ignore it, .... in effect you've made a choice. All anyone can ask is that you make wise decisions.

Pm me if you'd like to discuss any further, since I wouldn't want to take the topic too much further off course. By the way, I'm very willing to supply you the bibles for yourself and your friends, but without someone to help you understand it, it might be rather frustrating. However, let me know.
 
AnUnown said:
Boring, unfun people, but better.
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Have you watched anything online lately?

The "angry critic" craze has reminded me how boring and unfun profanity is, at least when it isn't insulting or hurtful.

I think a lot of people are forgetting the difference in audience; given the nanny state mentality, and even perhaps a legitimate business person's mindset, your "private" conversations aren't private. This isn't a service you've contracted with that has guaranteed the privacy of conversations, but an online game free to refuse you service if you don't comply to their policies you've already agreed to formally.

Your opponent might be deeply hurt or offended by what you think is jovial game banter. Instead of reporting it, especially if such behavior is portrayed as an acceptable norm, they might decide the game isn't for them (unhappy for a business person to lose customers), or overreact in a truly tragic fashion to "cyber-bullying". Yes, even close friends; besides legitimate miscommunication some "friends" are better or more perceptive than others, and I have given serious offense without intending it, or at least the scope of it.

tl;dr: Pokémon is covering its bases and what you find acceptable, normal behavior isn't to everyone. Sometimes what becomes normal for a sub-culture isn't because of mutual consent, but because dissenters are driven from the culture.
 
Otaku: you may notice that I clearly stated I understood why they did it, just that it was annoying. I also stated my conversations were with friends. The post you quoted was my response to the comment that behaving in the manner they wanted made you a better person, and was somewhat facetious.

P_A said:
:lol: Again, on the defensive. LOL.

Nobody, including me, says you are a bad person. In fact your ability to come on here at the pokegym and clearly, consisely state your problem with their policy without being snotty about it, says a lot about your current level of maturity. I gotta give you props for that. But just like all of us, you AND I need to improve. That's a given. If we improve ourselves, we'll become nicer people to be around. If you currently have lots of friends, that's great. But just think about how many friends you'll have if you become nicer to be around. The bible's advice won't do you any harm - nor your buds. However it's up to you to heed it's advice, or to ignore it at your own peril. You can be a positive force for good among your friends - or not. You choose, or not. But whether you think you've chosen, or just ignore it, .... in effect you've made a choice. All anyone can ask is that you make wise decisions.

Pm me if you'd like to discuss any further, since I wouldn't want to take the topic too much further off course. By the way, I'm very willing to supply you the bibles for yourself and your friends, but without someone to help you understand it, it might be rather frustrating. However, let me know.
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PA, as stated above, my post was meant to be somewhat lighthearted. I get your point, and I get why the rules are what they are, it's all good.

I can haz bibles tho? ;)
 
Unfortunately, the current implementation of the chat filter alerts a moderator if a chat message contains one or more flagged words or phrases, but doesn't provide the moderator with context for where the message was posted. We're working to improve that process, with a goal of establishing a slightly more relaxed policy for chat between players on each others' Friends List.
 
This didn't involve any "bad" language (i.e. cuss words) but last night, I noticed in one of the lobbies that someone posted "Nobody wants your stinkin cards" (mis-spelling was theirs, not mine) then posted "just kidding" and some other nonsense.

Wasn't a big deal to me, but I posted "Hey, be nice, there are little kids online".

Am actually glad to know that someone is monitoring the chat and keeping it real for the kids. :)
 
M_Liesik said:
Unfortunately, the current implementation of the chat filter alerts a moderator if a chat message contains one or more flagged words or phrases, but doesn't provide the moderator with context for where the message was posted. We're working to improve that process, with a goal of establishing a slightly more relaxed policy for chat between players on each others' Friends List.
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It would be nice to if you could somehow connect this to a persons age.
 
Michael, would you be willing to explain why using a comma occasionally trips the filter?

It's been a few weeks since I did some testing, and it's possible it's been fixed by now, but I'm curious about:

"ah, gg" => filtered
"ah gg" => not filtered

Or:

"Mewtwo, it was" => filtered
"Mewtwo it was" => not filtered

I can come up with explanations for most of the other terms I've seen filtered ("tool scrapper" is filtered because of "tool", saying something like "wow, nice double-kill" gets filtered for "kill"; still trying to work out "zero", but I'm sure it's a terrible insult somewhere), but I'm at a loss as to how the comma actually is tripping the filter.
 
The filter checks each word against filter lists for every language we have in the system (ASCII, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, etc.) to prevent someone using a naughty foreign word in the middle of a string of English (or French, or Italian, etc.) text. This can make for some fairly inexplicable editing decisions. We're aware that there's some wonkiness and are constantly evolving the filters to eliminate false positives. It is a long, slow process and we do appreciate everyone's patience.
 
Jaeger said:
It would be nice to if you could somehow connect this to a persons age.
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chrataxe said:
Right!

Like, if it were linked to their Pokemon.com account that has their age on it...
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I'm not sure that I'm connecting the dots on this line of thought. Can you clarify? Are you indicating that we should be more lenient on chat messaging if both players are adults?
 
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